June 30th 2024 marks World Social Media Day, a day where we recognise social media’s immense impact on global communication. Social media has increased our connection to friends, families and other communities and has provided us with a virtual space to:
- express ourselves creatively
- find support and belonging
- access mental health content
- be entertained.
Given how present social media is in our lives, it is unsurprising that a lot of young people find it hard to switch off and take a break sometimes.
Social media overuse
Social media overuse is not an official diagnosis and it isn’t just based on the amount of time we spend on social media.
So what is it?
Social media overuse is when we find it harder to manage the impulse to go on social media.
Some common signs of social media addiction include:
- Thinking about social media constantly. This can look like:
- constantly checking notifications
- feeling pressured to post in order to get likes.
- Spending so much time on social media that it’s stopping you from:
- completing daily activities
- engaging in activities you enjoy
- getting enough sleep
- maintaining relationships outside of social media.
- Feeling stressed, anxious, irritable when we can’t use social media.
How can social media get you hooked?
The addictiveness of social media is linked to dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone that makes us feel good. Our brain releases dopamine when we do things that we like. So when we log on to social media and do things like receive likes, watch entertainment, or connect with others, we get a dopamine hit. The positive feeling that we get then pushes us to continue using social media to continue feeling good. Overtime, this can make it harder to disengage from social media because we miss feeling good.
Aside from overuse, other challenges with social media use include:
- Seeing distressing content or world news - doom scrolling is a new term to describe how we might continue scrolling through heavy news despite feeling distressed.
- Seeing misinformation - for many of us, social media is a way to access information on mental health or the news, however, this can mean we’re exposed to wrong or harmful information without knowing. For more on the news and critical thinking read our article.
- Comparing ourselves to unrealistic standards - the visual nature of social media can encourage us to try to look a certain way or do certain things. This can impact our self-esteem, resilience, and body image.
- Experiencing cyberbullying - sometimes friends or strangers may hide behind a profile and say or do mean things. If you want to learn more about cyberbullying head here.
Given how social media can affect many areas across our lives, it is important to be mindful of the way we use it.
So what are some healthier ways to use social media?
- Take breaks - give yourself set times where you’ll unplug and get analog!
- Go to your phone settings to set time limits and turn off notifications for social media apps
- Log out of your accounts to make it less tempting to hop online.
- Plan activities that don’t require engagement on social media platforms e.g. have a games night with your friends or family, learn a new hobby or skills, check out a new local cafe.
- Limit distressing content by curating your feed or by reporting inappropriate content - we have some more tips on how to cope after seeing distressing content.
- Improve your media literacy - check out this article we have on thinking critically about the news we consume.
- Check out Bad News and Spot the Troll for fun ways to learn about social media literacy.
- The ESafety Commissioner is a great resource to check out for reporting cyberbullying.
We also have an article here on 5 ways to tame your social media use with more tips!
We also have extra resources that you can check out:
- 5 strategies for dealing with cyberbullying
- 5 tips for dealing with trolls
- Dealing with bad world news
- How to cope when things feel out of your control
- 4 signs social media is sending you into a spin
So over to you all! What are some things you love about social media and how do you unwind when you need a break?
